Kettle crisps’ US owner Campbell eyes sale of brand following profit warnings

POSH CRISP maker Kettle could be sold after its owner Campbell hired advisers to assess the future of the snack brand.

It is understood that Barclays has been hired by the US food giant to explore a sale of the crisp business, as it looks to generate cash following recent profit warnings.

Kettle, which employs almost 500 people across two sites in the UK, was bought by soup-maker Campbell as part of its 2017 acquisition of American food group Snyder’s-Lance.

Snyder’s-Lance bought Kettle, which also includes the Metcalfe’s Skinny popcorn brand, as part of Diamond Foods for 1.2bn US dollars in March 2016.

A city source told the Press Association that the UK arm of Kettle could be worth “between £50m and £100m”.

It is understood Campbell is aiming to sell the global Kettle Foods business as whole.

The sale plans come after the UK arm dived into the red following “very intense” competition in the UK market and increased brand investment, it said in companies house accounts.

It fell to a £4.3m operating loss in the seven-month period to July 31, 2018, slumping from a £51,000 profit for the 2017 full-year.

It reported revenues of £51.1m for the seven-month period as its market share declined against the previous year.

Kettle Chips was launched in 1978 in Oregon by Cameron Healy, before starting UK production from a converted shoe factory in Norwich 10 years later.

The appointment of Barclays follows a raft of deals in the crisp segment last year, with 11 acquisitions involving bagged snack brands in the UK in 2018.

The flurry of activity included the sale of rival posh crisp-makers Tyrell’s and Pipers, bought by Intersnack and PepsiCo respectively.

Campbell Soup announced plans to sell its Bolthouse Farms business to private equity for 510m US dollars last month as it looks to generate cash.